2. Geography of Ancient China
Middle East
Gobi
Desert
Middle Kingdom
The Geography of China
ancient Chinese called their land Zhongguo, the Middle Kingdom
most isolated of the civilizations
Chinese belief that china was the center of the earth and the sole source of civilization (nomadic invaders were considered to be barbarians)
Geographic Barriers
west and southwest of china are high mountain ranges- the Tien Shan and the Himalayas
southesast were jungles
north the Gobi desert
east Pacific ocean
traded with neighboring people and in time with middle east
“River of Sorrows”
Chinese history begins in the Huang He valley
Loess- fine windblown yellow soil
Water level rises due to the settling of loess on the bottom
Many dikes- breakage leads to flooding (destruction of crops and mass starvation)

3. Contemporary written records
Three Dynasties: Xia, Shang & Zhou (2200 BCE-221 BCE)
Contemporary written records
only begin with Han period (200 BCE) because records from earlier dynasties were written on perishable products (silk, bamboo, wood)
Shi Huangdi ordered the destruction of all historical documents except those relating to his own dynasty
Enough survived to piece together the three earliest dynasties
Xia, first Chinese dynasty (2200 BCE-1766 BCE)
leader was an engineer and mathematician named Yu
instituted flood-control and irrigation projects
actual events of period are unknown because there are no surviving records
farm surpluses allowed cities to grow

4. Shang Dynasty ( BCE)
State and Society
King and his lineage
Feudal
Local lords swore loyalty to the king
Lords governed most of the land
Anyang
Last capital of the Shang Dynasty
On Huang He River, 3.6 miles long
90 % of the basic material for the study of Shang civilization comes from this city
ceremonial or ritual center
rich and poor cemeteries
royal tombs
Thirteen
only stone sculptures, carved jades, bronze weapons and vessels survive
human sacrifices were found below the base of the tomb pit
surrounded by bodies of humans sacrificed to the ancestors
Fuhao—queen’s grave that was unlooted had 7,000 cowrie shells, 590 jades, 440 bronzes, items of bone and stone

6. FU HAO’S TOMB

7. IVORY WITH INLAID TURQUOISE
DRINKING VESSEL

8. BRONZE

9. BRONZE
AXE

10. JADE
PENDANT
IN THE
SHAPE
OF A
PHOENIX

11. QUESTIONS:
WHAT DID THEY SPEND MORE TIME ON—THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOMB OR THE OBJECTS IN THE TOMB? WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM?
WHAT DOES THAT SUGGEST ABOUT THE SHANG PERIOD?
WHAT ASSUMPTIONS DO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE DO NOT MAKE?

12. - 100,000 pieces of inscribed oracle bones in existence
c. Religious Beliefs—Prayed to many gods and nature spririts, ancestor worship
d. Writing and Society
1. Oracle Bones
- 100,000 pieces of inscribed oracle bones in existence
- most come from Anyang
- cattle shoulder blades, shells of turtles
- write an inscription (date, questions, sometime the interpretations were also recorded and the outcomes)
- heated with a metal rod
- cracks interpreted
- called ancestor worship
2. wrote on bronze vessels
3. early Chinese writing
- thousands of characters
- only wealthy learned how to read and write

14. MANDATE OF HEAVEN Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 BCE)
Overthrew the Shang Dynasty
Justification comes from the Mandate of Heaven
BRINGS PEACE
REBUILDS GOVT
REDISTRIBUTES
LAND
PROTECTS PEOPLE
NEW DYNASTY
AGING
DYNASTY
LOSE
MANDATE
MANDATE OF
HEAVEN
PROBLEMS
NATURAL DISASTERS
PEASANT REVOLTS
INVADERS
TAXES ARE TOO HIGH
PROTECTION IS WEAK
GOVERNMENT IS
CORRUPT
PEOPLE TREATED
UNFAIRLY

15. b. Justification came from Mandate of Heaven
1. in essence it grants the divine right to rule
2. Gods sent ruin on Shang because they were bad rulers and in response lifted the Zhou to power
3. explains the dynastic cycle (rise and fall of dynasties)
a. Provide good government = enjoy the Mandate
b. Provide bad government = heaven withdraws its support
c. Led to the continuance of feudalism
d. Economic Growth
1. more food production due to iron
2. expansion of commerce
a. Money—coins
b. Trade became easier
c. New roads and canals
3. increase in population
e. Achievements

16. e. Achievements
1. Silk
a. Silk comes from the thread of silkworms
b. Growth of the cultivation of silkworms and mulberry trees
c. Women’s work
d. Only royalty & nobility could afford
e. Most valuable export
f. Development of the Silk Road (from China to the ME)
g. Process—secret
2. First books
a. Bound thin strips of wood/bamboo together
b. Drawing of characters
c. Book of Songs—poems about farmers & kings

19. Questions
How did Europe help fuel the development of the Silk Road?
How did the secret of silk escape China?
How many various ethnicities were involved in the Silk Road?
Besides silk, what other goods were being traded on the Silk Road?
What led to the downfall of the Silk Road?